A town centre charity shop has closed its doors - after being hit with a £20,000-a-year business rates bill.

Midlands Air Ambulance opened a store in Gaolgate Street, Stafford, in June 2017, after moving into an empty shop previously occupied by Shoe Zone.

It was the charity's fourth shop in the region, joining branches in Newcastle, West Bromwich and Wellington in raising vital funds to keep the life-saving air ambulances running.

But the Stafford shop has now shut because it was unable to claim business rate relief - a discount on the tax paid to Stafford Borough Council by companies and organisations occupying non-domestic properties. This meant it faced a business rate bill of more than £20,000 a year.

"Despite our best efforts and extensive dialogue, we are extremely disappointed by Stafford Borough Council's decision not to issue us with standard Government mandatory business rates relief for our charity shop.

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Charities and community groups can claim up to 80 per cent discount on business rates if a property is used for charitable purposes.

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity shop opened in Stafford last June

But Stafford Borough Council spokesman Will Conaghan said: “Unfortunately, as the shop is operated as a trading company, and not by the charity, it does not qualify for the standard Government mandatory business rate relief.

"We realise the great work The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity does in our region and gave the organisation advice on changes they could make to receive that relief - but unfortunately they have made the decision to close the shop rather than make those changes.”